This is Forever
by Junai Eclipse
Summary: Sequel to "Once In a Lifetime." 2 yrs have past, they've weathered high school together but University is a whole other world. Can this fragile bond of theirs stretch the distance or will growing up also mean breaking up? SunakoXKyohei et al
1. Our Beginnings

**This is Forever**

**A/N: Oh yeah baby, I'm not done with these two awkward lovebirds yet. If you followed me here from my first story, thank you for your dedication! I hope you enjoy this continuation and as always continue to review (I know, shameless plug).**

**So, they've weathered high school together. But now everyone is doing their own thing, away from the mansion. Can their relationships stretch the distance and responsibilities or will growing up be the end to the fairytale?**

**This year was also my first in University and away from home, all the way across the continent for that matter. I've certainly changed from who I was and grown (I hope) from the experiences I've had. Unfortunately, no significant other yet...actually, not a single date but who cares? I'm too busy trying to finish my readings and write in my spare time :) Let me just offer a piece of advice: unless you want the potential headache of moving THREE freakin times in one year, live in residence for your first year. Trust me, I know from personal agony, it's much simpler that way.**

* * *

_It's sunny out again_, Sunako thought to herself. She sat perched on the long cushion of the breakfast nook her aunt had insisted on building in the attic bedroom. Since the attic room faced the front of the mansion, Auntie said it was perfect for a floor to ceiling window. Last year, Auntie followed through with her threat and hired the architects while Sunako was at cram school getting ready for University entrance exams. Even though she wasn't deathly allergic to sunlight anymore, it still took a lot of operant conditioning for Sunako to get used to waking up to an open sky every day. But here she was, two years past, finally living life to its fullest. She had Noi and some new girlfriends from her psychology classes, they went out to clubs sometimes and she even subjected herself to shopping excursions. Sunako would never be a social butterfly, but she was no longer agoraphobic. She still craved the nights and days spent alone with her growing horror collection, with nothing but her own thoughts.

The university had just let out for summer break and the boys were finally coming home. Sunako shook her head; they weren't really boys anymore, if they could ever have been called such. Sometimes, she thought her four former roommates where born fully grown, oozing charm and sexuality. Okay, enough. She needed to start on the food prep or there would be nothing for tonight's dinner. Sunako had to remind herself earlier to buy enough to feed an army, because he alone was a bottomless pit and there would be nothing at her table if she shopped for the normal amounts.

The morning had been dedicated to the marketplace, selecting the best meats and seafood and haggling over the fresh vegetables. Sunako bought extra shrimp, remembering how he loved her ebi tempura. After coming home and storing her purchases, her afternoon was spent cleaning the mansion in a flurry of duster mops and vacuum noise. It'd been so long since the rooms had been in use that Sunako had to air everything out and retrieve the bed sheets and blankets from the cupboards. It felt like that first day in grade ten all over again, only this time, she was anticipating their arrival. She admitted to herself that she missed them all; the last time everyone had been together was last summer. Takenaga had took Noi to Hawaii last Christmas, before University semester started and Ranmaru had been on a round the world cruise with his fiancé, Tamao. It had only been the three of them and Auntie then, and that was fine. But now, everyone was finally coming home to her.

God, she sounded like someone's hundred year-old grandmother on her death bed. Sunako mentally slapped herself from the melancholy thoughts as she made her way down to the kitchen. Oba-san wouldn't be here this time as she was on another one of her husband searches, this time in Saudi Arabia. Sunako didn't think her aunt needed any more money, but an oil baron in the family would definitely help with her fuel costs. Sunako took out the vegetables and started chopping and dicing them to the appropriate dimensions needed for her dishes. She hummed to herself absentmindedly, wondering what time Noi was going to arrive. Last night, on the phone, Noi had said she'd get here in time to get with the prep. But it was four already and no dazzling brunette in sight. Maybe Takenaga caught an early flight and went over there first. Sunako smirked at the thought, she would definitely be checking for hickeys tonight when they got ready for bed. Noi was currently living in the university dorms because she said her parents were getting to smothering. Sunako had offered a room in her home but Noi wanted the social life only residence could provide. If it had been anyone else, Sunako would've suspected the girl wanted to find a boy toy. But this was Kasahara Noi in question here, and she'd be dead before she cheated on her "perfect guy" Oda Takenaga. If anyone could've made distance relationships work, it was those two.

Yuuki at least was still in the city limits, going to the Tokyo Institute of Technology and enrolled in computer graphics and design. Takenaga chose to follow his family traditions and had spent the year after graduation travelling Japan apprenticing with various famous flower arrangers. It had been a bit dicey at first when Noi got wind of the beauties in the industry; luckily she was easily placated by nightly phone calls. Ranmaru and Kyohei were both in the Osaka region. The playboy had chosen to study international relations at Osaka U while Kyohei was in Keio's Osaka campus, taking business courses. He'd chosen the Osaka campus because it gave him the biggest funding with the martial arts scholarship. Sunako hadn't wanted him to stay in Tokyo just for the sake of closeness. Thinking back on their high school career, Sunako really couldn't have imagined the paths they chose to walk today. It was too different, but it suited.

* * *

_Ding Ling DONG!_ The chime-like doorbell echoed through the halls, drawing Sunako away from the meat cutlets she'd been arranging for the hot pot platter. As she poked her head around the open kitchen wall, Sunako was unsurprised to see two hazy figures standing behind the frosted front door window. Obviously her guess had been correct and Takenaga arrived home early enough to have a little rendezvous.

"It's open, come in!" Sunako projected her voice, assured that her friends would get the message. When had she ever needed to lock the door? There was ample security set up on the grounds and even if an intruder managed to get in, they soon enough wished they hadn't.

After hearing the unmistakable sound of the door opening and shutting, she went back to finish off slicing seafood and sashimi, happy that everything was finally coming together. Sunako might not like to be around people much, but she was the consummate hostess and loved to cook for others. These holidays were the few times she could relax and entertain.

"We brought wine Suna-chaan!" Noi's chirpy voice grew as she neared the kitchen.

Sunako put down her knife and rushed to the sink to wash her hands, turning just in time to be enveloped in a bear hug from her best girl friend. It didn't matter that she saw Noi almost every day, the other woman was always enthusiastic with her greetings. Sunako wheezed slightly from the impact and shifted to look over Noi's head at the tall, dark haired man standing behind.

"Noi, let go. Can't breathe." Sunako gently pried the brunette off her. Takenaga come forward with the same effortless elegance that Sunako always found awe-inspiring and leaned in to kiss her cheek. There was no helping it, even after all that exposure and training, Sunako could never stop the reflexive flushing whenever a good-looking male came so close. At least, she didn't bleed or faint anymore. Usually.

"Welcome home." Sunako bowed slightly to the man.

"Good to be home." Takenaga raised one hand, which held three square bags. They had either bought some gifts or that was a hell lot of wine.

She waved to the island in the middle of the kitchen. "Put the wine down and tell me about your travels. Noi, I can't believe you ditched me for a man."

Sunako shot her friend an evil smile, promising much interrogation, "Now come help me arrange the sashimi you two. I'm almost done here." She wouldn't start cooking most of the hot dishes until everyone arrived, although the nabe stock had been simmering all afternoon.

They worked in a calm assembly line, Sunako cut and sliced, handed it off to Takenaga who arranged it on the black china platters before giving it to Noi to put with the other dishes of sushi. After that was done, they took up spots in the living room with cups of tea. It wasn't long before the front door banged open again and footsteps were heard pounding down the hall. Excited chatter interrupted Takenaga's latest recounting of his run-ins with female proprietresses. And before Sunako could so much as get up, a heavy, distinctly male body collided with hers, pushing her into the armchair.

"Sunako-chan!" Toyama Yukinojo was not nicknamed the energizer bunny for no reason. Given enough sugar, he would keep going and going and going. "I've missed you!" Given that it was Yuki, Sunako counted to ten before doing anything.

"Okay, personal space Yuki-kun. Remember?" Sunako patted his back awkwardly and pushed slightly at his shoulder. Yuki got the message and eased off, taking a cross-legged position looking up at her from the carpet. The guys all knew, instinctively by now, how far they could push her so she was no longer so twitchy.

"How have you been Suna-chan? Did you miss me? Sorry I couldn't come visit more often, the design classes have killer deadlines." Yuuki would've continued his monologue if another presence hadn't cut in.

"Sunako, darling, did you miss me this Christmas? I thought of you the whole time I was cruising." Oh, he was smooth, both in his actions and tone. Ranmaru had taken the distraction and perched his butt on the arm of Sunako's chair, draping himself across the back.

The raven-haired girl turned her head around and stared straight in Ranmaru's golden eyes. "You were probably too busy making use of the mistletoe, and I don't suppose you did a lot of thinking with your head. How many wives did you catch?" His face was inches away so she brought up a hand and pushed it away. Meanwhile, Takenaga had gotten caught up in Yuki's description of his painting classes. And they fell into the easy chatter of long time friends.

Sunako looked at the clock, it was past six already. Where was he? She needed to start cooking soon or the vegetables would wilt.

"He told me to tell you can start cooking whenever," Ranmaru informed her, as if reading her thought, "Said he'd be here in time."

Yuki caught Maru's words and piped up, "I'm hungry, I won't last if we have to wait for him."

Those puppy eyes could make her jump off the Tokyo Tower. Sunako rose from her spot and looked down at her clothes. "Oh well, I guess it's kinda late to change to something nice. Why don't you guys start with the miso soup and sashimi I have ready while I finish the other dishes."

Now that she actually looked at the group, Sunako realized everyone was wearing nice clothes while she was still in the skinny jeans and baggy man's shirt she'd worn while cleaning. It couldn't be helped; fashion was just not high on her priority list. Noi should be thankful she only dressed in her old gothic gowns a couple of times a week now.

Everyone obediently got up and filed into the kitchen, each taking a platter or bowls for the table. Sunako had done the place settings in advance so the utensils and glasses were already there. Ranmaru peering into the bags Takenaga had brought and pulled out a bottle of white wine.

"Sunako-chan, do you want a glass while you're cooking or should we save you one?" He had a bottle opener in one hand and was already pulling out the cork.

"Nah, I'll pass on this bottle, Takenaga brought too much anyways." Sunako shooed the coffee haired man into the adjoining dining room and leaned over the large window that separated the two spaces. "Try not to stuff yourselves yet, I've got tempura and stir-fries coming up and there's nabe after that." A unanimous cheer resonated from her audience as they tucked in to her appetizers.

Sunako returned to the stove and quickly fired up her wok. Within the next few minutes the vegetables and noodles were done, the rice had cooked through and Sunako had brought most of the dishes to the table. She glanced at the clock again, slightly worried now. Six thirty-seven. Where was he? She couldn't start the tempura until he was home but she also couldn't drag it out much longer. And—

"Getting hungry waiting for me?" The smooth baritone voice she had been missing brushed across her nape. Sunako involuntarily shivered, she had pinned her hair up in a loose knot while she was cooking and that had left her neck bare. Finally. He was back. Kyohei was home.

Strong arms came around her waist and brought her back flush against a lean, well-muscled body. It was a different kind of flustered that Sunako now felt. Butterfly wings sprouted from her stomach and a tingling sensation spread from her hip where his fingers pressed. Sunako relaxed her spine and let the man move them to side of the kitchen, away from the view of the others. This was something she didn't think she would ever get over in her lifetime. He was something she would never get over.

"O-kaeri nasai." She whispered.

"Tadaima."

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**A/N: Can anyone tell me why the editing thing is so screwed up? I kept losing parts and getting random passages italicized!!! Help!!!**

**PS: REVIEW! Suggestions or wicked ideas are always welcome, and don't hesitate to point out anomalies or errors :)**


	2. Homecoming

**This Is Forever**

**A/N: Just finished first year exams, and it feels like I got out of jail or something. I promise, there will be more graphic scenes in the very near future (eg. Next Chapter), but only if I get a few more reviews! Hehe, think of it as the carrot before the stick method :)**

**As it is, I'd really like to thank the people who reviewed the first chapter. And to those leeches who didn't...ahh, well, I understand, I admit to being one too. Still, I hope you will deign to write a few words for me this time round. I really would like to hear what you think about the progression and any advice or plot twists you'd like to see.**

**Special Thanks to:**

**Bunni16**: Love your name, love bunnies to death.

**4nim3BBfr34k**: Enjoy!

**monkey kix ass:** So glad you decided to stick with me! I was so happy so see an old reader reviewing.

**Meli**: I hope I can keep your attention with this chapter.

**anitsirhc**: Yes, they're more...ahem...mature. Sort of. Well, there'll be more mature scenes soon. Tell me how you think I'm doing with the progression.

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**"**_Tadaima_"

Those simple words embodied their relationship. Sunako wasn't like Noi, she didn't know how to say affectionate greetings and neither did she feel comfortable accepting them. Takano was much the same. But he was the only one who could bring out the full smile she currently sported. They stayed like that, her back against him, his arms around her, for a couple of minutes. Then.

"I'm hungry, did you make the ebi yet?" His breath caressed her neck again. Sunako felt the brush of lips running down her chin to her collarbone. She told herself to get a grip. She really couldn't afford to have a nosebleed every single freaking time her boyfriend started kissing her; she'd become anemic. But it had seemed like forever since Christmas and she felt a lot more sensitive to every touch.

Sunako brought her hand to rest on Kyohei's forearms, absently tracing the corded muscle there. "I can't start on them unless you let me go. Or you can starve a little longer."

"Don't wanna." A heavy weight settled on her left shoulder and Kyohei pressed his cheek to her neck. Sunako twisted slightly to look into soft violet eyes. She lifted one hand and fingered his straight light mocha hair, brushing at the strands that flopped over one eye. They were so close. A couple of years ago she would've drugged, strangled and dissected anyone who even joked about her being so intimate with another human, much less one so beautiful. A couple of years ago she would've killed herself before ever letting such a thing happen. Yet, here she was, sharing her second favorite room in the house (after her attic) with possibly her most favorite living person in the world. Someone so bright, he blinded even normal people. It was a telling experience for sure.

Sunako sighed, content now that everything was as it should be. "Well, I'm hungry. I've been working all day cleaning and cooking for you guys. The least you could do is let me sit down and eat." She got a non-committal grunt in reply. Sunako brought both hands up to cup his face, determined to give him a piece of her mind. He couldn't just stroll in and monopolize her like this, damn it! There were other people around, people who could walk in that instant and be witness to this absolutely uncharacteristic, disgustingly sappy…mush, that she'd become.

"Suunako-chan, where are you?" Yuuki's voice travelled through the doorway an instant before his body rounded the corner, "I saw Kyohei's bike in th—AHH! What are you doing! This isn't a bedroom?!"

* * *

"So." Ranmaru stared intently at Yuki. The other man gently rubbed the growing lump on his forehead. They had all heard his outburst from the dining room. "What did you see?"

Now that everyone was here, Sunako had gone back to the kitchen for the hot pot. Kyohei had gone up to drop his bags in his room. Ranmaru took the opportunity to lean in beside Yuki and give him his best "we-can-do-this-the-easy-or-hard-way-but-I'll-get-it-out-of-you-eventually-so-spill" look. Takenaga had a hand on Noi's back, trying to restrain her from jumping on Yuuki and demanding the details. The poor doll-like boy was cornered from all sides; if he told them now, Sunako might kill him in his sleep tonight; if he didn't tell them, Ranmaru might throttle him right now. The question here was, did he want to die now or later? He chose to take his chance with Sunako.

"I walked in on them making out and fell into the granite counter." Yuki whispered it at super speed, hoping the devil girl in the other room hadn't heard. He glared at the laughter Ranmaru and Takenaga were so obviously trying unsuccessfully to hold in. "You would've been scarred to if you saw it. I mean, can you even imagine…"

"Oh, our poor beautiful flower is growing up and getting molested by an oaf." Ranmaru sniffed sentimentally, still chuckling at Yuki's clumsiness.

"Suck it up Yuki, you've got a girlfriend. This kind of thing can't be all that shocking." Noi piped up. "Now I want a blow by blow recount of what you saw. Where were their hands, what was their body position. Everything!"

Takenaga stopped his girlfriend short of reaching over and strangling the other man in anticipation. "Noi, Yuki probably didn't look too closely. Why don't you just ask Sunako later, you have all night since your staying over, right?"

"Yes but I had other plans tonight," Noi told him. Plans involving you, she privately added. They had been together for almost three years and still hadn't gone further than making out. She was probably the only girl in university who'd never seen their boyfriend completely naked before. Sunako and Kyohei didn't count because they were both socially stunted and couldn't care less about things like that, although Noi clearly remembered a few instances in high school where the two had gotten into very compromising, intimate situations. Arg! Noi tugged at her shoulder length locks, either way she looked at it, Sunako had still gone farther than she. That was depressing.

"Noi? You look angry." Takenaga eased her fingers from their death grip and held them loosely in his own larger hands. "You aren't sick are you?"

Noi sighed, Take was always so intuitive, so perfect, she still woke up fearing he had all been a dream of hers. "Nah, I'm just annoyed I didn't get front row seats to that scene."

"Okay you guys, break it up. I didn't come back to watch you two make bug eyes at each other." Kyohei's loud voice cut through the moment. Takenaga jerked back into his seat and Noi's irritated expression became considerably more aggravated. Stupid Takano.

Noi turned around to give him a piece of her mind. "We weren't the ones making out in the kitchen though." She thought she saw a nerve twitch in Kyohei's temple.

"Yes, yes. Do tell us Kyohei, what were you thinking. You didn't even come say Hi to everyone before mauling our poor Sunako-chan." Ranmaru's smooth as silk voice coaxed. If they didn't know better, they'd say Kyohei was blushing.

"We weren't doing anything." The man in question studiously ignored his friend's barbs and grabbed the bottle of opened red wine, intending to pour himself a glass.

"Hey, wait! We opened that to let it breathe. At least wait till the Sunako's here with the food before you get drunk." Yuki protested.

Kyohei paused, shrugged, and went right ahead and poured himself a full glass. Of course he wasn't that ill-mannered, he proceeded to pour for everyone else before folding his tall frame down into his cushioned seat. Kyohei set the bottle back on the table, next to his seat and lifted his glass to his lips. "'S okay, she doesn't drink much wine, she wont care if she doesn't get a full glass."

"Who won't care about what?" Sunako re-entered the dining room, balancing a huge tray with the bubbling hot pot and condiments. She laid the wide pot down and passed around small dishes of various sauces. That done, Sunako looked down at Kyohei with her hands on her hips. "Were you guys talking about me? Whatever Noi's plotting, I'm not doing it."

"Hey! They were well thought out, theoretically successful plans." Noi said indignantly. Every time Noi-chan came up with another one of her brilliant schemes to introduce Sunako to "normal" life, Sunako always ended up in girly clothes surrounded by seedy men. It was just like high school only, recently, the clothes had gotten skimpier and the men more lecherous.

Kyohei shot the lanky black-haired female a lazy look from half-lidded eyes, "Wine. They wanted to wait for you before pouring but I told them you didn't care. You can just sip from mine."

The room fell silent as five pairs of eyes landed on Sunako's still figure. That had been such a blatantly arrogant and male statement. Was Kyohei a masochist? Did he WANT Sunako to crack and turn into the female version of Freddy on a rampage? Yuki stopped rubbing his head and started looking for places to hide. Takenaga was assessing the probability of Sunako blowing up there and then. Ranmaru and Noi were just plain curious how the former man-hater would act.

Sunako narrowed her eyes and smacked Kyohei upside his head with a resounding 'thwack.' "Don't be so assuming. I've got my own glass and I can pour for myself." She proceeded to do just that. "And I've got some sake as back up." She muttered under her breath, thinking of the glass china cabinet against the wall of the dining room. In the bottom wooden drawers, she'd stashed some nicely aged Koshu sake just in case she got fed up with wine. Nothing beat sake with traditional Japanese cuisine.

Kyohei grinned at her as she pulled out the empty chair on his right. "Yeah, you're going to have to share later." He whispered right back and blew into her ear before leaning back into his chair.

Their audience watched the byplay warily and let out a visible sigh of relief. No unnatural, Sunako-made disaster yet. They all hoped Kyohei could keep himself in check and not provoke her tonight. Ranmaru's face took on a mischievous smile.

"So Sunako-chan what were you doing in the kitchen to make Yuki scream like a twelve-year old girl?"

"Noneofyourbusiness!" Sunako rapidly shot out; using every ounce of will she had not to flush tomato red. She picked up the remained dish on her serving tray and plunked it down in front of Kyohei. "And you! Shut up and eat before the batter gets soft." She'd waited the last minute to fry up his favorite dish and she'd be damned if that effort went to waste.

Ranmaru was the first to complain, "No fair, if you put it there, we'll never get a taste. Kyohei's going to hog the shrimp!" Kyohei made a face at his friend and proved the observation true by proceeding to scoop half the plate of golden battered shrimp into his bowl.

"Sucker!"

That triggered the mad dash, free-for-all struggle as each boy, everything else forgotten, scrambled like starving hyenas for their favorite dishes. Noi sat back, an amused, slightly disgusted look of wonderment on her face. Sunako couldn't help but agree with her female friend's unspoken thoughts. No matter how much time had passed, these grown men still acted like boys when it came to food. Right then, in that moment, it was as if nothing had ever changed for them. As if time hadn't moved on and they had never left, as if they were all once again teenagers living, unsupervised, in this big mansion.

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Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. Please, **REVIEW! If you give me some love, I'll give you some too!** (In the form of our favorite pairing...)


	3. Things That Can't Be Said

**This is Forever**

**Disclaimer****: I keep forgetting I need this. Sorry!!! Wallflower, and related characters do not belong to me. But the plot does ;p**

**A/N:**Well, I'm not sure but maybe I shouldn't have continued the story, because I get the feeling it's not interesting to readers. I'm sorry if this was slow moving, but I'm really trying to make it seem realistic here.

Thanks though to **monkey kix ass, tocut, Bunni16 and anitsirhc** for sending me reviews and encouragement! I really hope this chapter satisfies some of the anticipation I've tried to build up.

Special thanks for Kevin, who actually went to the trouble for sending me long emails about my writing! Extremely appreciated.

"You know what I think our problem is?"

Grunt.

"Takenaga doesn't hate me enough."

"…"

_What the hell?_

"Okay, I'm lost." Sunako admitted defeat and rolled over from her position stretched out in front of her TV. It wasn't everyday that Noi's random bursts of insecurity was able to pull her away from the shower scene in the original black and white rendition of Psycho.

After dinner Sunako had set the boys to clearing the table and was even benevolent enough to allow them use of the dishwasher—usually she cleaned everything by hand. After ensuring that the guys still remembered basic chores and wouldn't be breaking Oba-san's bone china, Sunako had retreated to her room for some quiet time watching a movie. It would take a while for the guys to clean up and Sunako understood that they probably also wanted to catch up between themselves without females around. Hence the current situation with her, the unwatched movie, and a ranting Noi.

Noi had taken the opportunity to unload every little problem, real or perceived, in her romantic relationship with Takenaga. Most of the time these things flew right over Sunako's head. She simply did not see or understand the nuances Noi claimed were present in every relationship. However, this last comment seemed even more ridiculous than all the rest put together. Even she, as stunted and oblivious as she could be, was pretty sure hate did not cement love in any healthy relationship.

"Let me get this right, you want Oda to hate you now?" Sunako said slowly. She was either incredibly dense or she had missed a nuclear chunk of the conversation. "I thought you liked him."

"I _love_ him," Noi enthused. "But we simply aren't getting anywhere. I'm a grown, mature woman now. I need more than pretty words and kisses. I have needs that beg to be satisfied and I want him to take initiative."

Sunako started feeling uneasy as she guessed where this train of thought was heading. "…you want sex?" Even saying the word sent her into mini-convulsions. God, why are they talking about this now? This is supposed to be discussed between the two parties involved. She did not need to hear it. She did not want to hear it! She most certainly did not want to envision Noi, or anyone else, doing the down and dirty. They should stop talking about it right now. This minute—no, second! She wanted to forget it ever came up. She needed to get to a hypnotist fast.

"Yes! Sunako, I knew you'd understand," Noi exclaimed as she crawled forward on her knees to peer down at Sunako's reclining figure. Obviously the horror lover had hit the nail on the head, but this time she really wished she hadn't as it seemed to be the last nail sealing her coffin. To her own growing horror, Noi didn't seem likely to let up on the subject. Sunako darted her eyes to the cross-dissected mannequin standing in the corner of her room, sending a silent prayer for Hiroshi-kun to miraculously animate and come save her. Needless to say, no luck there.

"Sunako, I have to ask you something." Noi's face turned deadly serious, "I know you're a very private person, but you're experienced and I need your help." Sunako lay there frozen in terror at the new, dominant Noi personality before her. "Please, tell me how you got Kyohei to sleep with you! Onegaishimasu!" Noi sat down and prostrated herself in a deep head-touch-floor bow.

It took Sunako a few moments to register what had just been said. Then it took a few more to stop hyperventilating. She was proud she hadn't fainted. Finally, when she trusted herself to speak coherently, Sunako opened her mouth to set things right. Her voice cracked loudly like a pubescent boy's.

"I-I haven't done anything with him! What makes you think I have?! Can't help you, so please don't talk about it like that." Sunako croaked as she propped herself up to a sitting position. It was unthinkable! She shuddered. "M-maybe you need to tell Oda about this, not me?" She could only hope.

Noi shook her head vigorously, shooting down any chance of salvation for the former recluse. Sealed and buried, that's what she was. "How can I possibly do that? I'd die just thinking about saying those things to him."

_Well, don't kill me as well._ Sunako thought wryly._ I'm dying listening about those things right now._

"You have to help me Sunako," Noi wailed. "You're the only girl who understands how those guys think."

Sunako snorted in exasperation, "No one knows what goes on in those heads, least of all me. You're his girlfriend. You talk to him every night, don't try and say you don't know him.

"It shouldn't be hard, just do as you did right now and…uh…confess your concerns to Takenaga. You can't have anything real unless you're honest with each other. I thought you learned that in high school." Hell, she could pass for a marriage counselor with the stuff she was spouting. _Where had that come from?_ Sunako mused. _I must be growing up._

"And for future reference, I have not, do not, and probably will not, do anything of the sort with Kyohei." _At least not now._

"So don't ask me this stuff again. I haven't passed out in a long time and I don't have any urge to do so now. I also don't want to clean up any blood stains on my sheepskin rug." Sunako informed her slumping friend. When she didn't get an immediate reply, she grew concerned. Maybe the lecture was too harsh? "Noi? Daijoubu?"

The wailing started, no tears, just ghoul-like wails.

"I don't know what to doooo! Everyone else with a man has done it, but how can I ask him just like that? He's so perfect, how do you ask a god to commit such earthly crimes?" Noi had officially past her slightly irked phase and hit the dramatic life-or-death-situation phase. Sunako could feel a migraine coming on.

"He's always understood you in the past and he'll do so if you ask now." Sunako told the desolate beauty, "Just don't try to keep it to yourself, you really suck at holding things in because your face shows how troubled you are."

"If you want to" Sunako drew a breath before courageously plowing on, "do _it_ that bad, then there's no use in hiding, ne? You've confessed to Takenaga before, I have faith in your ability to do it again. Of course, this is all theoretical for me, 'cause I have no such urges." She hastily added. Noi looked calmer now that she'd spent most of her pent up emotional energy. Sunako only hoped that the cries hadn't travelled downstairs to the men.

"Urges for what, Nakahara? Feeling like killing someone lately?" A familiar, and presently unwanted, voice infiltrated her room. Sunako tilted her head to look past Noi at the man silhouetted in the doorway.

She rolled her eyes, "Bad timing Takano, you're a man and right now Noi doesn't like men very much. Go away." Sunako made a shooing motion with a hand tipped with black lacquered nails. Predictably, Kyohei didn't budge.

He walked right in.

And made himself at home. On. Her. Bed.

This was not going the way she wanted, Sunako groused. If Noi's sudden silence was any indication, all that denying Sunako had put so much effort into earlier had just fled through the open window and into the darkening horizon. Of all the pieces of furniture he had to pick to lounge on, it HAD to be her bed the one time it mattered!

"Oh take a hint, get your ass off my bed and go bother the others. We'll be down later." Sunako growled at the gorgeous male specimen sprawled across her black down duvet. The laser glare she sent him promised retribution in painful, physical and emotionally scarring ways unless he did as she commanded. It sucked that Kyohei was at a point where he could brush off her worst as easily as a piece of lint. And the looks Noi was shooting between the two of them boded ill for Sunako in the future. If she wanted to head off any misconceptions, she had to make an example now.

Sunako picked herself up to full height and advanced to the bed. She stopped at the side of the bed and reached forward with all the intention of dragging the man up, and giving him a smack upside his head for his stubbornness before pushing him out the door. When her hand connected with his wrist, Sunako realized belatedly that her plan was a dud. Not only was Kyohei a guy and unfortunately for her, stronger due to his training for national competitions, but he also had his own agenda at the moment. He reversed her grip with lightning reflexes and caught her off guard fast enough to pull her over him. Just as quick, their positions changed and Sunako found herself under his body, being pressed down into the soft comforter. Too shocked, with the wind knocked out of her, to complain or shriek as she usually did when Kyohei pulled one of his tricks, Sunako lay there, her obsidian eyes growing bigger by the second.

What the hell was he doing? She did not like the glint in his eye or the wicked smile tugging at his lips. The fading sun cast his chiseled features in shadows and turned his body into a girl's wildest fantasy. Actually, this whole scene seemed like something out of a teenage fan girl's wet dream. Except, Sunako was pretty sure only males had wet dreams. _Okay, getting a grip now_. She berated herself, to no effect. Her mind had gone the same way as her denials to Noi, straight out the fucking window into the great beyond. With that perfectly symmetrical, toned and powerful body straddling her, pressing into her lower regions, there was no way anyone—male or female—could've had a coherent thought. It was all Sunako could do not to go into an epileptic fit and blackout from blood loss.

_You're used to this, you're used to this. For all that is evil and unholy, you can HANDLE him!_ Sunako's inner chibi goth chanted in her mind. Then he lowered himself to his elbows, caging her in with his arms on each side of her head, pinning her even more perfectly underneath. Those amethyst eyes glowed deep purple now, all signs of amusement gone from his face, he looked down right serious. And that scared Sunako. A serious Kyohei meant her senses were probably going to be fried soon.

"Hey," She brought her hands up to push against his chest, unconsciously molding them to his muscles. "You're too close, get off me before I really decide to hurt you." Not a single inch of him moved. When the hell did he get so much stronger than her? It wasn't like she didn't train as well!

Kyohei's eyes narrowed imperceptibly, "I'm not all that happy with you either." His nose brushed against hers, she felt his breath across her cheeks. "You owe me for that scene in the kitchen."

"!"

What the bloody hell was he talking about? He was the one who'd pounced on her!

"I had to suffer all through dinner you know." Kyohei's voice dropped to a soft growl, "It's not good to be a tease Nakahara."

Then, without warning, his lips were against hers, his tongue tracing her top lip then across the seam, gently teasing and demanding. Sunako lost her ability to breathe; she became a bundle of nerves and sensation under the force of his kiss. He wasn't usually so forward or expressive; it just wasn't how they did things. Must've really been too long, he's lost his mind, Sunako thought as she brought her arms around his neck and promptly lost hers.

Under the onslaught, Sunako couldn't hold back the quiet moan rising from her throat, she simply wasn't used to so much _feeling_. She was too sensitive to each stroke of his tongue, each caress from his hands. She felt the heated weight of his palm pressed against her belly like a brand upon her skin, the skimming fingers of his other hand travelling up her thigh to unbutton her shirt, coming to rest at a point under her breast. It was slowly stealing her sanity. Something was wrong here, she was burning up, a gentle ache began building in her lower body and every shift, every touch, only exacerbated it. Their tongues danced, twining around each other as their bodies twisted to copy. Her hands were tangled in his hair, his roamed along her body, under her shirt, up her stomach, claiming every inch for his and her pleasure. It was too much. Too soon. Too fast. His hand dipped under the rim of her jeans.

"…listening?...Oh MY GOD. SUNAKO! KYOHEI! YAMARE! I'm still here!" Noi's shrill shriek blasted through the lust and haze of the couple on the bed. "YAMARE! Don't go any further, I didn't say I wanted to _see_ it happen! Stop, halt, time out…CEASE AND DESIST!!!"

That certainly got their attention. As if a hot iron had been set on him, Kyohei jerked upright, pulling Sunako along with the hand resting on her bare back, still under her half unbuttoned shirt. Sunako looked well and thoroughly ravished. Her eyes were glassy and unfocused, her usually straight hair rumpled, one shoulder bared to the cooling air as her gaping shirt slid lower with gravity.

Damage control could not begin to cover her problems now.

**A/N:** Thank you for reading, I really hope you'll leave a comment for me as it is a form of encouragement for me to continue.


	4. Hidden in Plain Sight

**This is Forever**

**A/N:** Thank you so much to **DarkSmile; Bunni16; anitsirhc; monkey kix ass; and Loth9**.

Yeah Kevin, I'd like to really thank you for encouraging me to continue with this. I realize now that review numbers aren't everything. Critical readers are what makes things worth writing for. This one's for you!

* * *

"If you've got something to say, spit it out now." Kyohei all but snarled at the ring of eyes surrounding him. It wasn't like he set out to be the bad guy here. But from the way Noi told it, he was a sexual predator and danger to female society or something. It also didn't sit well that Sunako, partner in crime and scandal, had gotten off pretty much scott free because the interrogation crew was mostly men who were too scared of her. Why was it always the guy in the wrong?

After Noi had screamed bloody murder, the three other guys had rushed upstairs, expecting to find Sunako pulling out her new collection of cadavers or something. Only, what they found was even more unnatural; Sunako and Kyohei, legs tangled in each other, sprawled on the wooden floor. Noi was sitting down, with her hand over her eyes yelling at Kyohei to stop. Ranmaru was the first to figure things out, but it was obvious, even to the other two, something kinky had gone on. Hence, the formation of the Sunako Inquisition Team, with Noi at the helm.

To Kyohei, it was more like a witch hunt, hell bent on condemning him for something he hadn't even gotten around to doing.

"How could you take advantage of Sunako-chan like that!" Yuki cried.

"Not even I'm that desperate," Ranmaru added, "At least wait till no one else is in the room."

"Get your hormones under control!" Noi berated in a shrill voice, "You're almost 20 now, shouldn't you have gotten over the horny phase by now?"

There was a moment of silence as the answer to that ran through every guy's mind: hell no. But no one, not even Kyohei, was stupid enough to say it aloud. Sunako remained dazed, eyes glazed, body limp and mind completely wiped of coherent thought. She was still in shock at what transpired.

"Maybe we should put one of those house arrest bracelets on him, so it beeps if he starts getting to close to Sunako-chan." Takenaga muttered. From the nods all around, the others were actually considering it.

Ranmaru bent over Sunako's motionless body and poked the long limbed girl, "Guys, she's still not moving. Shouldn't we do something about this?" The playboy turned to look at his friends. The group stared back, a clear statement that they had no clue what to do either.

"Great, look at what you did," Noi told the amber haired man, "You went and made a vegetable of your girlfriend." Takenaga and Yuuki wisely chose not to say anything. Seeing as anyone caught between the two would likely be shot dead in the crossfire.

Kyohei scoffed, "There's not even a speck of blood and she's still conscious. She's fine." Saying so, he ignored the pointed glares and moved to sit beside the prone figure. He leaned down and brushed the lightest of kisses against Sunako's pale cheek, before blowing in her ear. That jolted the poor girl straight into a 45 degree sitting position, crashing her forehead against Kyohei's chin in the process.

"Holy shit, don't move like that." The man complained, rubbing his hurt face morosely. He glared behind him at the loose circle of long time friends. "Those halfwits have already tried to kill me, I don't need you doing it either."

Sunako blinked, poised like a china doll with her porcelain skin and long straight hair. "What happened? Why is everyone in my room? I thought I had you guys downstairs doing the dish—OH." The flashback came to her.

"AAAaaaah!" She screamed in a falsetto voice sharper than a banshee's, forcing the others to cover their ears or risk going prematurely deaf. Kyohei clapped a large hand over her mouth and forced her jaw shut. She slapped him hard.

"Why the hell did you do that, woman?"

"Maybe 'cause you did _that_ to me?"

"I didn't hear you complaining."

"I couldn't exactly talk."

"You managed to moan though."

"Oh for the love of—you didn't need to TELL that to everyone."

"It's the truth. You liked it."

"What I'd like is to kill you, but you don't see me doing that. So shut UP."

They stood facing each other, feet apart, both panting slightly from yelling. Sunako's hair fanned out over her shoulder like a sleek silk curtain, her eyes gleaming wildly and color flushed high on her cheeks. Kyohei hooked his thumbs on his belt and glared imperiously across at her with his eyebrow raised, mouth quirked in a devastating smirk. In that moment, everyone else forgotten, the battle was between two dominant forces, neither of which wanted to give way.

"I really should kill you, here and now." Sunako snarled, half crazed with disbelief and embarrassment. "At least then, you'd be useful to me for mummification practice."

"Don't tell me you've gone and developed necrophilia now." Kyohei mocked back. "I'm not sure I could live with that."

"Maybe I don't want you living. I think I'd prefer you dead." Sunako bit out.

At this point, the two had calmed down enough to take notice of their wide eyed, semi-terrified audience. Sunako had the presence of mind to look abashed and lapsed into silence. Kyohei's face remained arrogantly impassive.

Takenaga, ever the level head, spoke for everyone. "We should go down. Let you two sort things out."

Noi had other ideas, "No! Who knows what Kyohei would end up doing. He was this close to…uh…" Noi faltered. "He was about to do something really graphic, even with me in the room. Imagine what he'd do if we weren't around."

"I agree, if we go, we take Kyohei with us." Yuuki seconded.

Ranmaru was looking speculatively at the couple, a sly glint in his eyes. "Or maybe we should just let them, you know, do what nature intended?"

Bad move. Sunako whipped around with the force of a hurricane and sent a lightning bolt straight through the poor rich boy. Kyohei took the chance to slip behind her and placed his hands on her shoulder, keeping her still.

"Okay, okay, calm down. I don't want you killing us within our first few hours of returning. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. So will you stop with the death glares now?"

Ranmaru would've laughed if he wasn't paralyzed by fear, to hear Kyohei actually willingly apologize to anyone. As it was, Yuuki and Noi had their mouths hanging slightly open. Even Takenaga looked surprised. Sunako stood stock still for a moment then, almost imperceptibly, she inclined her head his way in acceptance. She wasn't a bitch to hold a grudge, in fact, half the time she'd forget what they were even fighting about during their fights. It was fun to argue with someone though, no one else stood up to her like Kyohei did. No one else could fire her blood so fast or so hot, as he could. It was always a challenge to see who could win. This time however, he didn't stand a chance. He knew it and he acceded.

Sunako relaxed from her tense stance and stretched her arms above her head. "Okay, I'm going downstairs to find some snacks. Do you guys want to stay here or move to the living room?" Just like that, she transitioned to normal and left her friends to adjust to the change as she made her way to the kitchen again.

Kyohei moved to follow, thinking Sunako might let him have a couple of sips of that hidden sake. But Noi beat him out the door and her glare was enough to cause him pause. As the girls moved out of sight, Kyohei shot a look at Takenaga.

"Your girlfriend's got something on her mind, and I'm pretty sure it has to do with you." He threw out casually. "It wouldn't hurt to ask her directly, cause she was spilling her guts to Nakahara before I walked in."

Yuuki and Ranmaru wore identical curious expressions as they moved their eyes back and forth between their friends. Takenaga stood, as calm and collected as the winding rivers, assessing his berserker friend. "If Noi has something to say to me, she will. Until then, I'm not going to pry. I don't think she'll be too happy if you did either."

Kyohei shrugged and clapped the black haired man on his back, "'S your funeral. That passiveness will bite you in the ass someday."

"It hasn't yet." Takenaga retorted, following him out the door, "And don't worry Sunako's not so vulnerable anymore, she can handle whatever Noi throws at her."

One amethyst eye peered lazily over the broad shoulder, "Who said I was concerned about her? I'm just giving you some advice."

Yuki and Ranmaru exchanged confused looks, Ranmaru spoke up. "Quit it with the hidden meanings, if you can't say it so everyone understands, don't say it at all. Me 'n Yuki are feeling really lost here."

Four pairs of eyes connected, and raucous laughter boomed from the staircase.

"You might as well stop lying right now."

"Who's lying? About what?"

"Don't be coy, it's creepy."

"I'm always creepy."

"Yeah? So what was that back there, up in your room?"

"Kyohei doing his best impression to date of a idiotic delinquent who needs to be institutionalized…or beat up."

Noi realized too late that it probably wasn't the best time to be antagonizing her friend. Not when the long-haired girl was wielding a twelve-inch chefs knife, honed to a gleaming point; even though the subjects under attack were currently apples and melons, the tide could turn very quickly to more human specimens. Sunako was in a fit of blind madness, energy radiated off her like gamma rays; deadly and penetrating. The scariest thing was how perfectly she still managed to cut each fruit. Each slice turned out evenly spaced, straight and thin. If not for the speed and latent fury behind the fall of the knife, one would think there was nothing wrong. Noi wasn't an idiot like Kyohei. Noi had no intention of being turned into minced human.

"Right." Noi blew out a frustrated breath and ran a hand through her blond streaked hair. "I'm supposed to think you guys weren't ever intimate after that display?"

Sunako paused her fluid motions as snorted before resuming at an even more vigorous speed. At this rate, there would be no unharmed fruit left in the house and she'd be moving on to the vegetables next. "You're supposed to get amnesiac and forget the last hour ever happened." _Including telling me about your problem with Oda_.

There was now way around it, not when the she-devil was like this. Once Sunako got in this mood, it became a waiting game. It was the same thing back in high school, when neither party wanted to admit their affections fro each other. Noi learned long ago, from experience that things would out themselves eventually. Until then, she'd bide her time and do her best to speed the process. It didn't mean she couldn't still get some answers. Noi switched topic so fast, Sunako didn't know what hit her.

"You never told me what you did on Christmas Eve."

* * *

**A/N**: Hope you enjoyed, I know this is a cliffie but really, I have my reasons. Please drop me a line or two. I love to chat lol.


	5. Not Our Usual

**This is Forever **

**A/N**: I've been bad. I haven't had much inspiration to write until just recently. So I'm really sorry to everyone who was waiting for my slow writer's ass to kick into gear!

**Loth9**: This is not meant to come across as melodramatic or whining or begging or anything of the sort, but…please forgive me! For not answering your emails! I've been avoiding my inbox like mad because mom's been nagging me about things by email, and I was too chicken shit scared to look. When I did, I realized avoidance was not the way to go—she called me repeatedly for the past month. My inbox was flooded with FB and a bunch of other stuff, with your emails buried there. I WILL reply today, I promise!

Thanks to **tocut; monky_kix_ass; nihongoneko; MISCharachter; anitsirhc; Meli; isis and Endless Moonlight**, for great reviews! They were all really encouraging, and I hope you guys continue to review!

* * *

_Christmas Eve._

That effectively froze the woman. Her knife raised midair, spine stiff and ruler straight; she turned slowly to Noi, who involuntarily backed up half a step. Anyone would, seeing that vacant stare.

Last Christmas, Noi had been surprised with a trip to Hawaii from Takenaga and so hadn't made it to Sunako's for the Eve or New Year's celebrations. All she knew was what Yuki had told her in hushed whispers over his cell phone. Apparently, it was only he, Kyohei and Sunako that Christmas Eve. However, Yuki had conked out after the first bottle of sake and by the time he woke up, it was bright out, he was in his own room, sprawled unceremoniously on top the duvet covers, and the other two were no where to be found.

When he went downstairs, the place was a huge mess, three additional sake bottles lay empty next to the one he remembered sharing. Couch cushions and pillows were scattered as if the Tasmanian devil had gone through the living room and pieces of coloured cloth were thrown carelessly on the floor. On closer observation, it turned out to be articles of clothing.

A sock here, a shirt there…a pair of female boxers and a bra.

That set the alarm bells off faster than a bush fire. Yuki had set up watch in a corner at the bottom of the attic stairs, waiting for evidence proving his suspicions. The problem was, when Sunako appeared, she was lethargic and hungover but otherwise unmarked, fully dressed in a long shirt and jeans, and most importantly, ALONE. To make sure Kyohei wasn't lurking behind, Yuki had even stayed in his position an extra forty-five minutes. When Yuki had made his way down, Kyohei was already seated at the kitchen table holding his head in his hands and groaning loud enough to wake the dead. The loud-mouthed man was, for all appearances, nursing the mother of all hangovers. The rest of that night remained a mystery but Yuki had a nagging suspicion that Kyohei wasn't in as much pain as he purported. The man had seemed surprisingly nimble reaching for the bacon Sunako dished out.

So the stupid skeleton remained in the damn closet. What the hell happened that that night? And how the fuck did underwear get removed?

Noi realized, very clearly now, that it she had two options in a situation like this: 1) Forge onwards and hope her years of friendship was enough to save her from being gutted or 2) Let things slide and reassess her plan of attack for a better time, preferably when Sunako wasn't surrounded by sharp objects.

"Never mind, Yuki told me you were all hung over the next day. I doubt you could remember it even if you tried." Noi turned around, intending to follow the boys into the living room. She paused by the doorway, her golden brown hair falling like a curtain over her shoulders, hiding the conspiratory smile from Sunako.

"I'll go ask Kyohei, since I missed the chance to talk to him earlier."

* * *

There was little else in life that could send her into fearful conniptions the way Noi could when the beauty put on her interrogator persona, as she was doing right then in the kitchen. Sunako watched as Noi slunk out into the hall and looked down contemplatively at the long chef's knife gleaming in her hand. No, murder was illegal. But maybe a few cuts—

A painful zap on the back of her head knocked her out of that reverie.

She dropped the knife and swung around, hair flying, fists ready, only to be caught in the grips of a troublesome man. Oh God, one second she was drowning in a sea of vivid amethyst. The next, she had her arm bent behind her and stomach pinned to the granite tops of the center island.

A huge, exasperated sigh rattled from her mouth, "It's just one thing after another with you…haven't you caused enough trouble yet?"

Her only warning was a brush of hot air before teeth skimmed her neck. It was a gentle pressure, no real intent behind the action. Then tongue got involved and everything took on a whole new meaning.

The press of warmth along her body, the arm banding across her stomach, the hot wetness of his open mouth, it was all a ploy hell-bent on driving her insane. She never remembered him being so goddamn horny before. He'd just done the same thing to her barely half and hour ago! This was ridiculous. She was going to overheat and be the first person ever to self-combust with an audience, that or die of self-induced asphyxiation.

"Kyohei…" The hand splayed across her stomach moved downwards. "What are you doing?" It reached the hem of her shirt and bunched the material up.

His mouth, meanwhile, hadn't stopped its assault on her neck and was now pressed against the juncture where neck met shoulder. She bit her lip to distract herself from the pleasant tingles coursing through her blood.

Steeling herself to take control, and seriously not burst the blood vessels in her brain, Sunako placed her free hand over the arm around her middle, stopping its wandering path before fingers could touch bare skin again. "Seriously, what's wrong with you?"

His nose brushed her collar and moved to nuzzle her under the ear, "I dunno, I guess celibacy's turning out to be a bitch after all. It's been five fucking months, you know." She rolled her eyes, and tightened her grip on his hand.

"I don't know what you're whining about. You've been doing fine for the past three years. Five months is nothing." Her head turned to the side, pinning his features with a lazer stare. "Unless there's someone else I don't know about?"

The effect was immediate. Kyohei loosened his hold and stepped back enough so that Sunako could comfortably turn around and face him. Once she'd done so, his arms came to drape freely on her jean-clad hips. She was tall for a female, but at six-foot-one, he still loomed above her five-foot-eight frame.

They stayed silent for a while, just drinking in the sight of each other, ignoring the noises coming from the living room down the hall. Right there, in that window of time, it was all about getting grounded, feeling the other person's energy, and knowing that there was somebody in this world that accepted every tiny flaw in their person.

The raven-haired woman broke first, "You still haven't answered me." One slim but powerful hand came up to cup his chin, tilting him to look her squarely in the eyes. Her dark eyes traced the lines of his face as her fingers brushed down his sharp cheekbones in butterfly touches almost too light to be felt.

Kyohei momentarily forgot what the question had been, "There's nothing to answer. I can't exactly look at another girl now." The second those words dropped, he knew he'd phrased it very wrong.

Her pale forehead crinkled in a light frown. She cocked her head to one side, dropping both hands to the smooth, cold counter behind. "But you've thought of doing it? With someone else?" She couldn't help it, it was probably in the genes nature instilled in all females, but she felt sad.

Suddenly, everything seemed wrong. The warm sensations prickling her skin became a steady tug in her chest. To her horror, the skin of her face tightened and burning started at the corners of her eyes. Shit. She was going to cry. She needed to get away.

Ducking her head, to hide the red tinge in her eyes and the sorrow in her face, she tried to push from the circle of his arms. This was crazy; she wasn't an emotional person, ever. Yet, one sentence had just reduced to her control, making her brim with tears.

"Stop. Sunako stop." Kyohei's cursed voice pled, a steady beating at her self-control. "You're misunderstanding things again, I didn't mean it that way!"

Again, his arms tightened around her, to prevent her struggling and press her length to him. His light brown, copper tinged hair tickled her skin as he lifted her face this time to him. Concern and exasperation rippled in the light purple iris' and his mouth was set in a decidedly dark frown.

"You really suck at reading between the lines sometimes." On seeing her thoroughly perplexed and watery eyes he drew her in even closer, so that not a single breath of air separated their bodies. "God, I can't believe I'm saying this. The reason I can't look at anyone else, you big idiot, is because I'm too busy thinking about you."

Okay, that, she was not expecting. She thought maybe a sorry or a kiss or something, but not this giant confession that was as endearing as it was sappy and uncharacteristic. Damn him for saying it. How was she supposed to reply to something like that? There was no way she could bring herself to say _that_ thing…

She forgave him, even though there really was nothing to forgive in the first place. Her embarrassment must've shown in her posture because she felt a smile curve against her skin and swore she heard a deep chuckle as Kyohei shifted to tuck her head under his chin.

"Damn." She felt the word rumble through his chest in a quake of relief. "I leave for a while and you've reverted back to old habits again. Who knew Nakahara Sunako could be so insecure?"

They both smiled at the ridiculousness of it all.

"Sunako, remember this next time," His baritone voice whispered against her ear. "I—"

**BAM!**

The kitchen door burst violently open, slamming into the wall beside it.

"Kyohei! Are you in there? Noi's got a question and she says she's going to kill you if—oh…c'mon, NOT AGAIN!"

* * *

**A/N:** We are going somewhere with this, I promise. (I just haven't quite figure out everything yet, -_-;) **But please review!** And I will…diligently…work on getting my act together.


	6. The Lid Comes Off

**This is Forever**

**A/N:** **Shout out to Bunni16** for giving me the electronic kick in the butt to get this up. Everyone, please give her a round of applause—her begging's what made this chappie possible! I admit, I was straying. I was busy churning out my Naruto fanfic, and had put this chappie on the backburner…I repent. **(But if you're at all interested in NejiTen then please check out my profile for my other story!)**

And wow, I was kind of amazed that there were so many reviews for last chapter. I guess I know what motivates you guys now…sexual tension, huh? Hehe, I can do that in spades. So a grateful thanks to: **R Y L; tocut; DarkSmile; Loth9; anitsirhc; Bunni16; 4nim3BBfr34k; monkey kix ass; nacho1sgood; nihongoneko; hisagi101! **

**tocut**: Here's the conclusion to your little fantasies…well, you'll see.

**DarkSmile**; this IS Sunako we're talking about, I think they'll be working on the relationship even after marriage…if they ever get there.

**Loth9**: Thanks as always, for the detailed feedback. Yeah, I reread the chapter and totally understand how confusing it was…is that a paradox? Does that even make sense? Haha, anyways, hope you like this chapter! PS: keep up your own writing!

**Bunni16**: Let me just say, please continue poking me! I really appreciate your support for my story.

**Monkey kix ass**: I live to bring smiles. No, not really. But I'm glad you smiled anyways.

**Nacho1sgood**: I'm just glad you decided to come out and review! Most people don't bother. So thank you very much. Yeah, will try to work on those typos…maybe in a later edit. Sorry!

**Nihongoneko**: of course it would irritate him more. He's a guy, he's perpetually horny! LOL. Poor Kyohei, let's make him suffer.

**Hisagi101**: Did you enjoy my first story? Looking back, it actually reads really immaturely…ugh. Wish I could've written it better.

**Disclaimer**: I own my non-existent plotline. And that's about it.

* * *

This time, it was Ranmaru who stumbled in his tracks to stare openly at the tableau by the kitchen counter. He—she assumed due to his former host past—was far more composed on seeing them in compromising positions, than anyone else had been that night. The elegant, dark blonde toed the door shut, arched his eyebrow and sauntered over to the still interlocked pair. He crossed his arms and leaned on the island, opposite to his friends. "Don't mind me, continue by all means. I've never actually seen Kyohei in action before, I bet he has a sloppy technique."

Sunako twisted around to deny anything and everything, but Kyohei brought one hand up to hold her head in place. Muttering low in her ear, "You're blushing, don't show him your face."

The normally loud man spoke unexpectedly quietly to his friend. "Your interrupting. Go away." An irritated glare was sent in the intruder's direction and a sharp jab towards the door followed. Compelled by some insane, spur of the moment urge, Sunako nuzzled at the base of Kyohei's throat, pressing small, closed mouth kisses to the soft, vulnerable skin. She felt his Adam's Apple bob as he took a deep breath and let it hiss out.

But, Ranmaru, being Ranmaru, had neither the sense nor manners to acquiesce to anyone's demands. If anything, he settled himself in for a fun time.

"Good idea, should I go tell Noi that you're molesting Sunako-chan again? I told them you were probably outside fiddling with you bike right now, but that could change with just a shout." The impish threat made Sunako squeak in shock, her arms coming up to push away from the man holding her.

Kyohei growled and held the young woman firmly in place. "Fuck, Maru. Can't I get a second alone in this house?"

"Sure, but you're with Sunako-Chan now. That's not exactly alone, is it?" Sunako could picture every line of the smug expression probably on Ranmaru's flawless face.

"You know what I mean." The frustrated tone was becoming a common inflection for Kyohei. It was downright annoying how everyone in this house seemed to know exactly which room to barge in and when to do it. If he'd known it was going to be like this, he'd have come a day earlier, before the peanut gallery's arrival. "Stop being a freaking voyeur. If you need something go call your own girlfriend."

That was wrong on so many levels. Sunako forced her head back up and gently pushed at Kyohei's solid chest, "Stop arguing, go find Noi before she finds you." When he looked down at her, disbelief clear in his eyes, she added primly, "You interrupted me anyways, so don't even try. Get going."

With a final, more decisive push, Sunako stepped out of his slackened embrace and headed back to her partially prepared platter of fruit. A glance over her shoulder told her that Kyohei was now glaring ominously at Ranmaru. "Kyohei, if you're not going to help me, go away! The apple slices are already starting to brown…"

Red lips turned up in a knowing smirk as she heard the scrambling of bodies and quick footfalls rush out of her domain. Nothing evacuated the kitchen faster for the guys, than the thought of food prep.

* * *

"…I've got one thing to say to you, Kyohei Takano. And that's that you'd better tell me the truth now—"

"Or what?" His lazy, devil-may-care attitude was really going to get him killed someday.

She'd hid out in the kitchen for as long as she could, but preparing fruit wasn't that laborious. It wouldn't have been long before someone remembered she was actually in the house and came to fetch her. But the minute she steps into the grand, floor to ceiling windowed living room, which was ablaze under the lights of three large crystal chandeliers and numerous wall sconces, what does she hear? Noi, trying her best to pry Kyohei open like a fishwife would to fish, again.

Well, you had to give the woman some credit; she was persistent.

If only that persistence was directed elsewhere—_Like getting Takenaga to sleep with her, for instance—_Sunako's life would be much simpler.

"Or you wont get a moment of peace and _alone_ time until I get what I want." At this Noi launched from her spot on the loveseat next to a very resigned Takenaga, and draped herself menacingly over Kyohei's shoulder. Her arms were poised to choke. "Now it's not such a hard bargain is it? I bet you're already pretty fed up with us. What's the big deal? It was only Christmas drinking wasn't it?"

Oh, fuck. The brown-haired beauty was _still_ stuck on that? It seemed that threat in the kitchen had been real; she was going to hunt Kyohei down after all. Luckily, Noi hadn't seen her come in with the tray yet, so she figured that if she kept quiet and out of her peripheral vision, she'd be okay. When Noi got involved in anything, all bets were off and it was everyone for themselves. Which was why the Yuki and Ranmaru were currently stock still and dead silent, in the farthest armchairs from the determined woman.

Putting down the fruit on the low coffee table behind Kyohei's seat, she sent a word of thanks to her absent Aunt for buying wooden trays with padded bottoms. But looking over, the scarily beautiful man seemed unusually passive, like he really couldn't be bothered and was started to fume in irritation. This wasn't good, from the body language and silence the man was seriously annoyed. She knew Noi didn't mean anything by getting in his face; it was just her way of digging out info. But it would just ruin the mood if Kyohei did blow up.

She had to head it off.

So she said the first thing that came to mind, "Nothing happened, he got flat out wasted."

Breaking that little spell of silence and tension meant she'd ended up bringing the force of Noi's attentions onto herself. It was getting to the point that she really couldn't be bothered to deny anything anymore, if that was what it took to get some peace.

"Okay, you know what?" By Noi's look, she really didn't but really wanted to. "Would it stop your interrogation if I said what you wanted?"

At this, the other female looked thoughtful. "I'm not looking for a story, I want the truth."

"Well," She sat down on the arm of Kyohei's chair, "you should trust my judgment better, because I'm not an idiot or a slut." Waves of irritation were coming off Sunako's shaking figure. The more the raven-haired woman talked, the more pissed off she became at the whole situation.

At this point, the room was silent. No one had the inclination to be Sunako's projectile's target.

"We drank, Yuki remembered that much. Then we got drunk. After Yuki passed out because, honestly, Yuki-chan, hard alcohol knocks you out way to easily." She turned to the young man in question, and grinned evily at his delicate features. "Anyways, Kyohei hadn't been back since summer and we were smashed. I'm pretty sure you can put two and two together, right?"

Silence.

Then.

"You guys drank me under the table to screw each other?"

"I guess hormones won that round."

"Tell me, Suna-chan, was it good?"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'TWO AND TWO TOGETHER'? HURRY UP AND TELL ME THE DETAILS."

Noi really seemed to be at her limit now. Her normally straight and sleek hair was frizzy from the friction of hands running through them, her creamy complexion had become gradually redder, and her eyes were burning bordering on madness. For a moment Sunako forgot about her dilemma and observed the fascinating changes taking place. Takenaga was doing his best to calm her down while Yuko and Ranmaru were achieving the opposite by firing more questions out. Kyohei's pointed cough and jab, pulled her back to the problem at hand.

"It's not going to be pretty if you keep stalling her." Kyohei's breath tickled her ear to the point of further distraction. "Just get to the point, I don't care if you don't."

She looked down at the crown of golden bronze hair. There went her hope for subtlety. Not that she wouldn't mind clearing everything up in one, but…it took getting used to, having friends like Noi.

"We played poker." Her even, quiet tone somehow managed to cut through the living room chaos. Four pairs of eyes honed in on her perched body. Now she was feeling the beginnings of embarrassment burning at her cheeks. "It got carried away, we got too drunk and ended up stripping on our way upstairs." And that was all she could physically force herself to say.

Kyohei looked at her with exasperated eyes, "Come on, just give Noi what she wants and tell her we slept together." He turned back to his friends, "Which, by the way, we did—"

"But not like that! No! Not what you're thinking, it was just sleeping. We were too drunk to do anything else." Sunako cut in, a frantic note in her voice.

"And I ended up having to sneak out her attic window to get back to my room because Yuki was sitting like a guard dog outside her room." Kyohei added, throwing an annoyed glare at the friend in question. "And this is exactly what we wanted to avoid happening. God, if we knew you guys would make such a ruckus about things, we wouldn't have bothered to try so hard to hide it. Doesn't it get boring, suspecting me'n'Nakahara on things we didn't do?"

"I bet you guys were naked." Noi commented in a deadpan tone. She seemed to have gone into shock all over again. As if unclothed Sunako and Kyohei were anything new; when you have four guys sharing the same spaces with one girl, it's a given that something—by accident, of course—was going to happen, sometime.

This was never going to end.

* * *

**A/N:** Maybe not, but this is the conclusion to one story arc. NOT THE STORY! **So don't think you can get out of not reviewing**! Oh, and I'm really sorry about any spelling errors here, didn't have a chance to go over after writing (again .) but if ANYONE wants to practice beta-ing, contact me!.

If I don't post another update this month, it's because I'm gonna be busy trying to locate a decent costume for AnimeCon in Vancouver. Sorry! I promise, I've got my next mini plot simmering on the pot—hey, that's an internal rhyme! (Plot, pot…okay, I quit now.)

And oooh Kevin! I'm still waiting to read the next portion of that story you sent me!


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